"She's an Assistant US Attorney," Dwire hissed. "She convicts cops for a living."
A heavy silence fell over the breakroom as the gravity of Dwire's words sank into Mallerie's mind. For the first time, the smug confidence on his face began to flicker. But instead of feeling remorse, panic turned into self-preservation.
"We need to lock down the narrative right now," Dwire asserted, pulling up an official incident report template on his laptop. "Write down that she entered traffic unfairly against an emergency vehicle, had her hands concealed in an unknown package, and actively pulled away when you attempted to detain her. Use standard movement language—'furtive movements,' 'officer safety concerns.'"
Mallerie nodded eagerly, typing out the fabricated report. He clearly wrote that Aaliyah had made no complaints of pain, showed no visible injuries, and that he had applied minimal guidance.
By 8:00 PM, Westbridge Police Chief Raymond Pierce held a brief press conference, attempting to quell the mounting public outrage. Flanked by union reps, Pierce read a cold, sanitized statement: "The department is aware of a heavily edited video circulating on social media involving a juvenile pedestrian. An internal administrative review is underway to determine if department protocols were followed. We ask the public to withhold judgment until all facts are gathered."
The statement backfired instantly. Local news outlets ran the press conference side-by-side with uncut footage provided by Dana Whitaker, the 54-year-old nurse who had witnessed the event from the bakery. Dana's video clearly shows Aaliyah stepping into the crosswalk while the white pedestrian walk symbol was still lit with 19 seconds remaining. It also showed Mallerie's cruiser aggressively cutting her off in the crosswalk.
As the city exploded in anger, Simone sat by Aaliyah's bedside, applying a cold pack to her daughter's swollen wrist. Just as Aaliyah drifted off to sleep, Simone's phone vibrated with an encrypted email from an anonymous insider within the police department. Attached was an audio file from Mallerie's bodycam—an audio recording that the police department said didn't exist.
Simone plugged her headphones in, her heart pounding against her ribs. The audio file was raw, unedited, and damning.
The recording captured the moments before Mallerie even stepped out of his patrol car. As Aaliyah walked legally across the street, Mallerie could be heard muttering under his breath, "Look at this little brat... not today." When he slammed her against the burning metal, Aaliyah's high-pitched voice cried out, "Why are you doing this? I had the light!"